Luggage Stolen

My luggage was stolen on this last trip from PBI to ATL!  I have made about 60 trips in the last 9 months, and really never had much of a problem.  I have heard that ATL is one of the highest theft airports in the country.  I had a black 26″ Tumi roller.  It had a white EMC luggage tag on it, so it did stand out. The reason it had a white EMC luggage tag on it is that someone stole my Tumi Leather luggage tag that comes with the bag!  They also stole two of the metal zipper pulls!  Turns out this stuff sells for money on ebay……go figure.

At first Delta treated it as a “lost luggage” but the thing is, I was on a direct flight from PBI so the odds of it getting lost were low.  Also one other lady had her bag missing that was on the same flight as well.  I am dreading the Delta claims process.  Basically they cap your claim at $3300.00, this is a Department of Transportation requirement that a cap cannot be any lower.  They will not reimburse for any jewelry, currency, electronics, and a few other things as well.  Anything over $250.00 they require a receipt on.  Unfortunately for me, I had ALOT of good stuff in this bag.  Keep in mind the bag is $850 by itself!  Yes that’s a lot for luggage, but I have had it quite a while and have made well over 100 trips with this bag, and it has taken a substantial beating. The Tumi warranty is very good as well, so in the end I feel it was a good investment.  In side this bag I had three knives!  The first was my Zero Tolerance 0350 which was a special exclusive edition (satin blade) from Knifeworks.  The second was my Leatherman Charge TTi, which I use as a standard multi-tool.  As a network guy I am always needing a screwdriver, some pliers, etc.  The last knife was an Olive Drab Benchmade Griptillian.  I don’t believe they make this anymore, its the 551 model, OD with a straight edge. I think you can get this with serrated edge still.

Also in this bag was my Apple TV, Garmin Nuvi GPS, Brooks Brothers Suite, Bose QC15 headphones, numerous shirts, pants, toiletries, etc.  I was on a 12 day trip so it was quite packed almost at the weight limit.  Also this was my first trip as a Delta Silver Medallion, so for once I didn’t have to pay for bags.  I checked two bags, one made it the other did not.  It’s not practical for me to carry all of this stuff on the plane.  I can’t carry the knives anyways, and its also not practical for me to not take this stuff with me as I bought it to travel with (Apple TV I can watch Netflix from my hotel room).  I currently have a claim open with Delta and hopefully I will be paid soon, as I have dipped out of pocket to replace many items and buy clothes as I am traveled.

In the future I will make sure my bags stand out somehow, maybe use some paracord or something so that people won’t feel comfortable just taking a plain black bag.  Be careful if you travel through ATL, the Baggage Claim is right next to the doors to the airport so it is very easy for someone to steal a bag and walk out.  There is very little security in the Baggage Claim area.  Even though they have TONS of cameras they don’t look at them apparently even when their is theft, as I have asked numerous times.